Going The Extra Mile

Good Morning Everyone,

As I sit here this morning I am reminded of a thought I had last night during Vacation Bible School. I watched as the faces of the children lit up at just the mention of the puppets coming out to see them. I listened in my Bible class as the children sang with their whole hearts all of the songs. I watched how determined they were to enjoy every second of playing outside and all of it got me to thinking about going the extra mile.

Children have no trouble going the extra mile because they are not hindered by so much of the baggage we adults carry around with us. They have no bills to pay, no cars to get fixed and don't have to buy groceries. Children amaze me in this way but it I am sad to say that we all have to grow up some time. But as is often the case being around our children at VBS this week has helped me to have some insight into my own life.

Jesus said in the book of Matthew "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." As a child I never understood how anyone or anything could force me to go anyplace I didn't want to go. As an adult all I have to do is sit down to pay my bills and I understand this principle all to well.

So I have made a decision. No longer will I be satisfied with going just one mile I want to go on to the second mile. I will do my best to put my whole self into everything and not lose that child-like wonder and amazement at what God has blessed me with. I hope as you read this post this morning that you will make a decision to go the extra mile in life. I hope you are blessed today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Things that go bump in the day

Good Afternoon Everyone,

It is good to be in Pearland. April and I have bought a home and we are loving being homeowners. Monday night we hosted an area wide devotional at the Pearland Church and everything went great. Sunday begins our annual Vacation Bible School at Pearland.

Yesterday my partner in crime Ryan Parsons and myself got the building early to turn the auditorium into a scene from the book of Exodus. Upon arriving at the building we were greeted by a new friend.

That's right friends there was a raccoon waiting for us. This female raccoon had decided to make her home in the indoor/outdoor foyer of our building. After several attempts involving a bullhorn, beating on the wall and using an umbrella on this little lady Ryan finally took matters into his own hands. We have several long lengths of PVC pipe lying around so Ryan did battle with our new friend and came away victorious. Ryan literally scared the poop out of this animal and I have proof.

All of that being said I want to invite anyone in the Pearland area to come to our raccoon free VBS June 22nd-25th from 6-8PM. For more information give us a call at 281-485-2436. I hope you have been blessed today from this little slice of my life.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

Off To Camp We Go

Hello Everyone,

It is had to believe that a month ago I was in California and now I am here in Pearland working with one of the best churches in the state of Texas. So much has happened since I last blogged. We have bought a home and are set to close on the 16th of this month. I have already taught a Bible class and given a devotional and pretty soon we will be heading off to do one of my favorite things and that is go to Camp Bandina.

Going to camp is like a homecoming for me. From the time I was a young child I attended camp and I have been blessed to be there as a counselor on two prior occasions. This year marks what I hope to be the first of many that I will be going as the youth and family minister at the Pearland Church of Christ. I am blessed to be teaching with one of my greatest mentors and friends Ralph Bryant. Ralph has been going to camp for nearly 30 years and has been teaching the 10th grade class for a majority of that time.

For any of you reading this who will be going to camp with us there are a few things you need to know. You need to be at the Pearland building at 7AM to load the van and worship so that we can be on the road no later than 8:00AM. You need to bring a sack lunch we will provide water to drink. There are other details we will share with you at church tonight.

I hope if you are a teenager and are reading this that you are going to camp someplace this summer. Camp is a place where you can remove yourself from the world for a few days and allow God to work in your life. Camp is a place where you will make lifelong friends and friends for eternity. I hope you are blessed by camp and by reading this today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

On The Road With Paul and April

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to make a quick update to let you know that April and I are travelling down to Texas. This morning we are in Phoenix Arizona. We plan to make it to El Paso tonight. Thankfully we haven't had any excitement thus far. In case you were wondering what the scenery looks like in Arizona I am going to tell you. To better help you paint that mental picture I want you to think back to the videos they show of the testing of a nuclear bomb. That is pretty much what Arizona looks like. There is very little vegetation in fact the only green grass I have seen was on a golf course. I hope you are blessed today I will keep you posted on our progress.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

An Overwhelming Response

Good Morning Everyone,

I have received an unbelievable amount of responses to my last post about what movies to get for our trip. Here are a few of the movies some of my faithful readers have suggested.

"Moving" with Richard Pryor
"The Money Pit" with Tom Hanks
"Ocean's 11" with Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack
"Midnight Run" with Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin
"The Big Sleep" with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
"Payback" with Mel Gibson - especially the recently released Director's Cut if you can find it
"8 Heads in a Duffel Bag" with Joe Pesci and David Spade
"National Lampoon's Vacation" with Chevy Chase
"No Country for Old Men" with Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones
Air Force One
Mission Impossible
Ocean's Thirteen
The Bourne Identity
The Hunt For Red October
Groundhog Day
Napoleon Dynamite
Clue
Hoosiers
Glory Road
Garden State
Batman Begins

Keep in mind this is just a small sampling of the suggestions I have gotten. First of all I want to say a HUGE thank you to all of those who contributed. These movie suggestions will make picking movies easier and will help speed our trip along.

Since you all did so well with helping me choose movies I have a new challenge. I have grown kind of tired of listening to the same old music on my ipod so I need some new music. I need for all of you to help by making suggestions about what music I need to download for the trip. Suggestions can be sent to pmc01hu@yahoo.com or you may comment on this blog. Once all suggestions have been made I will post a list of all the new music and movies we download. Thank you all for blessing me by being my friends I hope I have been a blessing all of you as well.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

I need a little help from my friends

Good Morning Everyone,

As most of you who read this blog on a regular basis know April and I will be moving to Texas in about a week. It is a long way from where we live to Texas so we are making the necessary preparations. I reserved our truck and tow dolly yesterday, April will be making hotel reservations for our nights on the road and we have both been picking away at the packing.

There are a couple of parts of our move we could use a little bit of help with. First of all we would love it if you would mention us in your prayers in the coming days concerning our move, assuming the work in Pearland and finding a house to make a home.

Secondly I need some help picking out some movies for the trip. I recently purchased one of the coolest gadgets out right now an iPod Classic 80 Gig which has video capabilities.

Itunes now offers the ability to rent movies for a very reasonable price. April and I will be travelling an average of 8 hours everyday so we will have some time to watch some movies. As most of you know I love movies but I would appreciate some suggestions from all of you. You can either commetn here or send me an e-mail to pmc01hu@yahoo.com

I hope everyone is doing well. I am literally marking the days off of the calendar until we load up our truck and begin the next part of the adventure that is life. Do your best to be a blessing to someone today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

My Iron Man

Good Evening Everyone,

Well I can see from my hit counter than a lot of you have been reading and that is so encouraging to me. I have managed to get one comment from one of my teenagers at Woodward Park and it was a good one.

This evening I would like to tell you about my hero. Me hero is my father Wayne Cartwright. Calling him father is so strange because to me he is so much more than that. The best word to sum up my Dad is just the Dad. In every since of the word he is one of the best Dads around. When I was growing up I never had to wonder if my Dad would be at my ballgames because a lot of the time he was not just sitting in the stands but helping coach. Any of you that know my Dad know that singing is not one of his talents. Even though he can't carry a tune in a bucket my Dad still made it to all of my choir concerts. There are countless hours we spent at the kitchen table learning math because I had to pass my tests and Dad was always there to help.

There are so many things I could tell you about my Dad but if I had to pick one quality to list above the rest it is the dedication he has for his family. I grow so tired of people who brag about the number of hours they put in at work or their success in the business world and have no clue about what is going on with their own kids. I consider my Dad to be a very successful businessman and I never once felt neglected because of his success.

For the teenagers reading this I would encourage you to get to know your parents better. I am constantly amazed that my parents keep getting smarter and smarter the older I get. The reality is they were that smart all along it just took me getting over myself to realize it. So I encourage you teenagers to learn from your parents.

For the parents reading this blog I would encourage you to get to know your kids better. They may say they do not like to be hugged and kissed but that is all for show. Your kids may tell you they want to be left alone and sometimes they mean it but more often than not they want your attention.

I like using this forum to issue challenges so I am going to issue one now. Hopefully by now you have thought about who your Iron Man or Iron Woman is in your life. My new challenge is for you to let them know and thank them for it. I hope you are blessed in reading this today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul